Opposition hears manufacturers' calls for lower dollar

Opposition hears manufacturers' calls for lower
dollar

Jan 28 (BusinessDesk) - An Opposition party
inquiry into the manufacturing sector heard from a
cross-section of exporters at Parliament this morning, all
of whom argued a lower exchange rate was more important to
them than any specific government support to their
industry.

Led by the chief executive of the New Zealand
Manufacturers and Exporters Association, John Walley, the
inquiry heard dire predictions about the state of the New
Zealand economy if its ability to manufacture elaborate,
high value products were allowed to continue eroding.

"The
biggest thing is the exchange rate," said Walley, a
long-time critic of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's
singular focus on controlling inflation.

High-tech
entrepreneur and Labour Party backer Selwyn Pellett told the
inquiry his companies had exported more than $450 million of
goods and services since starting in 2001, when the exchange
rate was US39 cents, compared to US83 cents today.

Pellett
was uncertain he would have started his business if the
exchange rate had been so high 12 years ago. He was about
to bank about $10 million in gains on the sale of his
shareholding in Endace, a software company he helped found,
but would not invest that sum back into the New Zealand
economy at
present.

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team led by former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

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